Monster Hunting with John and Dave
by HappyMadman
Summary: John moves to New York City to live alone and gets attacked by a creature he's never seen before. Dave is a monster hunter working with Bro in NYC. How will their two worlds collide? JohnDave. Rated T bc of language mainly but hopefully some suggestive stuff later
1. Chapter 1

**Uh well this is my first fanfic and of course it had to be homestuck. I've been wanting to write a johndave fanfic for so long so here it is ^^ hope you guys like it. Don't be afraid to review i would love some feedback :3**

* * *

Chapter 1

You are John Egbert and you feel incredibly guilty. You haven't felt this guilty since you accidentally crushed you father's favorite hat. You stare at the suitcase in your hand packed with all sorts of t-shirts, another pair of jeans, your toothbrush, and let's not forget your awesome collection of Nic Cage movies. Suddenly, you get the feeling that these movies aren't so awesome and that they are, in fact, fucking stupid, but you brush that feeling aside. The coach bus is cramped and uncomfortably warm. Next to you an oddly crabby guy sits, grinding his teeth and clenching his romance novel in repressed frustration. Down the aisle, a mother tries to comfort her crying child, who seems to be complaining about wanting candy. This furthers the grouchy man's annoyance.

"WILL YOU QUITE THE FUCK DOWN!?" The guy finally explodes next you, almost giving you a heart attack, "GODDAMN KIDS…" The kid stops crying and his mother glares in their direction.

Your neighbor goes back to brooding in his own seat and you begin to regret having moved out of Dad's house in Washington_. But Dad was being overprotective_, you reason, _I needed some space to breath._ That's why you were on this trip to New York City. You were going to start a whole new life there, independent of you father and away from his infernal baked goods. You shudder at the thought of seeing another Betty Crocker cake mix box.

"How do I live I without you? I want to know…," your phone begins to ring. Your neighbor glares at you intently and you answer the incoming call from your sister with a jittery laugh.

"What is this I hear about you moving out?" Jade's disapproval can be heard clearly over the static of the long distance call, "John, Dad's worried about!"

Ugh, you think, slouching further into your seat. Jade's giving you the guilt trip.

"Jade this is my decision. I'll still call him and stuff!" Your neighbor seems to be growing impatient with your lively conversation over the phone.

"But John, are you sure you'll be ok in a big city?" Jade cries, you can just imagine her biting her lip in concern.

Jade is your half-sister and doesn't live with you or Dad Egbert. You both share a childhood together though and are pretty close. You remained close even when her grandfather came and whisked her away to some remote island in the Pacific. Both of you made sure to maintain a line of communication even though she lived several hundreds of miles away.

"I'll be fine. Don't worry, it's not like anything bad happens in cities." It takes you a moment to register what you just said was stupid.

"Now I'm even more worried," Jade replies.

"Trust me, everything's gonna be okay. I kind of have to go now though. My bus just pulled into the station."

"Well…alright but call me later, kay?"

You sigh as you hang up. Your family tired the crap out of you sometimes.

So you are now Dave Strider, and you are in some serious unironic shit right now. Currently, you are running through the hella complicated maze that is the New York City sewer system trying to catch some rogue vampire who's been killing innocents for weeks. It took Bro days to track this guy down and entrusted you with slaying it before it killed more people. You didn't want some stupid cops getting involved and messing things up like last time.

You can hear its cackles as it loses itself further into the darkness. Dammit, you grit your teeth; if you lose this guy then Bro will kick your ass. Finally, you manage to corner it. It tries to lunge at you, aiming for your neck but doesn't even have time to flinch before you've sliced it in half with your shitty sword. Somehow it still manages to rasp out another cackle before dying. You've gotta hand it to him, motherfucker lasted longer than the other things you've hunted. You notice that some of its strangely-pigmented blood has splattered on you cheek. You wonder curiously what it might taste like and are tempted to have a taste. You glance around making sure Bro isn't watching you because he is a sneaky bastard. Satisfied that he may not be around to see, you quickly wipe some of the blood off and lick your fingers. In an instant you are on the floor retching, trying to get the awful taste of stupidity and nasty vampire blood out of your mouth. That tasted worse than when Bro tried to cook lasagna with expired dairy products instead of ordering pizza. Both of you were stuck in the bathroom for days. You shudder, fucking Italian food. Who needs that many cheeses anyway? Do all the italian chefs just go up to the chef king every day and ask him, hey what should we serve in our restaurants today? Oh, I don't know just put a truck full of whatever cheese you find and just sprinkle it over everything. Got some salad? Just grind some of dat shit over it. Got some fucking spaghetti? Just dump it all up in there. Heck, melt some of it on top of your gelato, call it cheese on ice, no, cheeseter in the freezeter, then sell it to a bunch of obese Americans and make millions.

Your phone's alert breaks you out of your cheese rant enough for you to answer someone's pester.

Pesterlog

_- [TT] timeasTestified began pestering [TG] turntechGodhead at 10:12—_

TT: You done yet or do ya need some help from big bro, lil' man?

TG: i've been done. Do we have anymore to go?

TT: Naw, you wrapped up the last one.

TT: We're having takeout by the way. That vampire blood aint got many nutrients. Growing boy like you needs a balanced diet.

TG: f u

TG: I just wanted to know what it tasted like. still better than your cooking.

- [TG] turntechGodhead ceased pestering [TT] timeasTestified at 10:21—

You blush furiously. So he had been watching you. Goddammit, you're never gonna hear the end of this crap. Just as you begin to contemplate crashing at your long-time friend's, Rose's, apartment you hear yet another alert from your phone. It's Bro again. Well, fuck.

Pesterlog

- [TT] timeasTestified began pestering [TG] turntechGodhead at 10:25—

TT: Forget what I said. There's another one heading towards the bus station downtown.

TT: Mosie your ass on down there.

TG: but my stomach is gonna eat itself.

TG: You did say im a growing boy

TG: I need a balanced diet Bro

TT: Fine if you don't go I'll just cook something for ya. How bout some fine ass strider cuisine? I'm breaking out the cheese.

TG: no just no. I'll go just no.

- [TG] turntechGodhead ceased pestering [TT] timeasTestified at 10:31—

Ignoring the incessant grumbling from your stomach, which you swear is some sort of flesh-eating alien trying to claw its way to freedom, you make your way out of the sewers.

You are now John again and there are more people than you've ever seen in your life, just rushing around trying to catch their buses before they drive off. You feel strongly overwhelmed. This is a new place after all. It's only normal to experience feelings of uneasiness. Yep, that's all there is to it.

Outside the sky is already dark and a strong breeze greets you as you step out. You hold your suitcase tightly; don't want any weird people mugging you. You figure it would be wise to hail a taxi so you dig in your pocket for some cash. You begin to sort through the wad of bills and don't realize the man coming right at you until he bumps right into your arm, sending you falling to the pavement. He apologizes and continues to walk briskly away. Huffing indignantly, you pick yourself up; ignoring the faces sent your way. You check for your money and discover that it's gone. Jegus fracking Warhammer of Zillyhoo! What are you gonna do now? That guy took all of your money. What would Nic Cage do? He'd probably go after that rascal and teach him a thing or two about justice and the American legal system! Crap, you're starting to sound way to much like your cousin, Jake, and your ex's friend, Terezi. Nonetheless, you are now homeless in one of the biggest cities in the country. You don't want to call Dad. That would be the last thing you would do. Sighing you decide to walk around and find a place to set your stuff down. You'll need to call Jade. She'll be worried sick and furious that you already got robbed in the first ten minutes you've set foot in the city, but she'll know what to do.

You start to walk down the street, trying to get used to the glare of the lights and the noise of the cars and people, but something grabs you're attention. A whimper echoes from a dark alley. You stand there, trying to reason yourself out of the stupid thing you're about to do. Another cry echoes out hits you in the face. Whelp, there goes your logic. Carefully, you enter the alley trying to peer into the darkness.

"H-hello? Is anyone there?" What's wrong with your voice?

"Yes, I'm here." A small voice replies, making you jump.

"Are you okay?" You ask, trying to sound more confident and failing epically.

"I think I've broken something."

"Okay hold on, I'm coming."

You maneuver yourself past stray trash bags and crates, bumping into several things ungracefully in the process.

"Where are you?" You call out, turning the flashlight in your phone on.

"Over here," The voice replies from you right.

You turn to look and a shadow lunges at you from the darkness. Its teeth clack and hiss, trying to bit you face and neck.

"You found me!" It squeals rather creepily.

"What are you?!" You are now completely freaked out. You're surprised you haven't wet your pants. What the fuck is this thing?

You glasses are knocked from you face and sent skidding off into the blurry darkness. It giggles before nuzzling into your neck. What the fuck? You struggle to get free but it has you pinned down by its sharp claws. It raises its head and you can feel the heat emanating from its mouth. Saliva drips down and splatters on your face. Aww gross, you gag. Through you poor vision you see its pointy, gleaming mouth grow wider, ready to tear you to shreds. It bites your shoulder and begins to chew. You scream in pain as you try to kick it off but to no avail.

"You'll be so yum-" It stops in midsentence as a flash blinds your eyes and the creature's head topples off its body. It lands with a fleshy thud next to your head and the body collapses on top of you. What the fuck is happening now? You begin to hyperventilate. Where are your glasses? What just happened? The pain in your shoulder flares up as you begin to scream yet again.

Something or someone lifts the dead weight currently crushing you to death. A smudged face appears above you with black hollowed sockets. Nope that's it, your brain can't handle any more of this, and you black out.

* * *

**Whelp this was the first chapter (i really hope the characters wheren't to OOC XD) Please review and so on. I'm already working on the second chapter so it might be up soon ^^**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

When you wake up, bright grey morning light stings your eyes and something fuzzy brushes up against you nose. As your vision clears the fuzzy object becomes a red colored stuffed thing with a rather large nose and its rump shoved up into your face. You groan, your shoulder is on fire. At the sound of your discomfort something moves at the corner of your eye. Wearily, you snap your head around to look.

"And the semi-suicidal dork lord is awake." A guy around your age of 16 says, closing his laptop and setting his My Little Pony headphones around his neck.

You make an observation of this strange person who might be a psycho killer for all you know. He wears a red and white shirt displaying a broken record logo and an awesome pair of Nick Cage-like shades perched coolly on the bridge of his nose. You strain to look around at your surroundings. It's an apartment, cluttered and messy, with millions of crisscrossing wires from stereos or turntables littering the floor and, as a weird contrast, large piles of stuffed, multi-colored puppets lay everywhere. The pain in your shoulder fires up as you attempt to sit.

"Whoa there derp, you kinda lost a chunk of your shoulder to that monster back there. Probs a good idea to rest. Don't want you bleeding out all over the floor. Bro's not all that good at cleaning."

"Wha…?" You answer groggily, flinching as you lay back.

"Don't tell me you've got amnesia or something. Do we need to take you to shrink? Get your thinkpan frying? Crack some eggs and cook them sunny side up…"

You tune this weirdo out mid-monologue and try to gather your bearings. First, where in the globbing world are you?! The sounds of the traffic outside lead you to believe that you are still in the city. You search the cluttered apartment for your stuff and see your suitcase by the front door with a weird-looking puppet wearing a blue t-shirt with the word CAL, sitting on it. Suddenly remembering your phone, you search for it and find it safely tucked into your front jeans pocket. That's when you notice that your shirt is gone. What the heck?! Did someone sexually harass you? Holy shiz! You glare at the weird shades-wearing guy suspiciously, who is still talking about breakfast and thinkpans by the way. Noticing your stare, he stops.

"Hey, I know it's hard resisting the strider charm but you've gotta at least take me out to dinner before anything gets serious." Shades guy smirks.

"What? No! I'm not a homosexual! Anyway, why am I here?! Where am I? What happened? Who are you?" You babble lamely. Well come on, a whole lot of crap has happened in the last 24 hours. It's normal to freak out a bit.

Shades guy sighs and chuckles a bit at your dorkiness. The tenor in his voice vibrates in your ears and you feel at bit calmer for some reason. Wait, what?

"The name's Dave. Dave Strider." Shades guy begins, his face remaining nonchalant with the exception of an idle smirk on his lips.

"And you are currently residing in the awesome man-cave that is Casa de Strider." Dave stands and walks into a small kitchen, opening the refrigerator and pulling out some AJ.

"You live here alone?" You ask looking around for your glasses.

"Naw, I live with my bro." Dave replies, coming back with a first aid kit and two glasses of apple juice. You notice that his voice has traces of a Texan accent.

"What's his name?"

"Bro."

"What? You just call him 'Bro'? What about his real name?"

"He doesn't let me call him that." Dave kneels in front of the couch, opening the first aid kit and undressing your wound.

"Why not? You're his brother!"

"I don't know, the dude's a fucking gift basket of mystery." Dave finishes redressing your shoulder and sits back, chugging the rest of his apple juice.

He hands you your glass and you blush. Why are you blushing?! It's not like you like him or anything, baka, you just met the guy. It's just his shades, they give off the feeling that he's watching you, intently, is all.

"Anyway, don't you want to know what happened?"

Oh yeah. You remember the darkness, the teeth, the pain. You flinch away from the memory and bite your lip with you buck teeth. It can't be true.

Dave smirks, "That fucker was a rogue vampire. Don't worry though, you're not gonna change. You need to die with his blood in you system in order to turn."

AWKWARD SILENCE.

"Who the heck do you think I am?!"

You try to sit up, ignoring the stinging pain in your shoulder. You knew it. This guy's a total nutcase. He's probably going to kill you now. You continue your efforts to get up and abscond the fuck out of there, but Dave pushes you back down.

"What are you doing? Let me go! I've got people who'll notice if I go missing!" You struggle to push him off with your good arm.

"Cool your tits dude. You don't remember the attack?"

"Of course, I remember," Dave's face lights up a little, "Some really ugly guy must've mugged me" and darkens again.

"Haven't I taught you better, lil' man? They never listen," A low voice sounds from the front door where a man in his early twenties stands, jegus his aura is just so intimidating. There's a deadly-looking katana hanging from his belt, and he's wearing a ridiculous pair of anime shades.

"Hey, try not to scare our guests with your flash stepping shit Bro, we're trying not to kill people remember." Dave grimaces, it's the first time you've seen him facially express any emotion.

"So this is your new boyfriend? What's his name? He's kinda cute. Let me borrow him sometime." Bro swaggers over to the couch, placing a vice hold around Dave's neck.

"He's not my boyfriend, asshole. He's the guy I rescued from getting turned into vampire bait." Dave wrestles himself out of Bro's hold, his face slipping again to show annoyance.

"Um, what the heck is going on here?" You stammer, slightly shrinking back as Bro's gaze flicks to you.

"Dave, you still haven't introduced us. That ain't polite man." Bro smirks and you realize that it's exactly the same as Dave's. Or, well, vice versa you guess, since Bro was probably there first.

"My name's John Egbert." You feel kinda stupid for telling them your last name.

Dave stiffens and Bro stands, placing his gloved hand on his katana.

"What?" You can't help but to stiffen too.

Dave also stands, "Well shit Bro what are we gonna do now?"

"What do you mean? What are you gonna do?" You feel yourself beginning to shake.

"You know that bite should've killed you. I was wondering how you survived." Dave mutters.

"Can't someone tell me what's going on?!" What seems to be your favorite word this chapter.

"I don't know how to tell you this John, since it seems like you don't have any idea of what you are. You are—"

Bro breaks Dave off, "an air demon, an Elemental."

_ Eh?_


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi guys, sorry for the long wait to chapter 3. I was so busy first with christmas break stuff and then school and band and my own art stuff that i had to do. And then i got writer's block so i apologize again lol (for that and all these darn excuses DX). Whelp here it is hope you guys like it. It's entirely in Dave's POV this time as i promised, i just hope i got Dave's character right XD**

* * *

Chapter 3

John's face is the epitome of confusion. You kinda feel sorry for him; the poor kid has had it rough since he came to NYC. It's probably not a good idea to tell him that you and Bro are monster hunters yet either.

"What are you guys talking about?" John exclaims, gripping the couch and biting his lip.

Goddammit that's cute, you mean, look at this derp with his big blue eyes and shit. The kid's so adorkable you just wanna hug him. You clench your hands into fists to restrain yourself from doing this unironic action. Or could it be ironic? You glance at Bro and decide against it.

"You're an elemental. You know, fire, earth, water and air." You respond, making sure that your voice sounds nonchalant.

"There is absolutely no way I am an elemental whatever," John explodes, "I mean, jegus, why the heck should I believe two strangers who kidnapped me?!" Nervously, he stands up, frantically looking for something.

"For the record, I did not kidnap you. You were bleeding out on the floor; did you want me to leave you there to die?" You retort.

John doesn't answer, just continues to look around for something.

"Mother of frick, what are you even looking for?"

"My glasses! What did you do with my glasses?! It's hard to see without them!" John sputters and you can see tears beginning to form in his eyes. He wipes at them hurriedly.

"Hey, Velma chill," You move forward and rest a hand on his good shoulder, "They're probably still at the alley. I'll help you find them just stop crying, jegus. "

You can't help it. You feel like tears don't belong in his eyes. You mentally facepalm, what the fuck are you talking about? You don't even know the guy well enough. Shit, if Bro knew what you were thinking you'd kill yourself to get away from his incessant "brotherly" teasing.

John calms down enough to look at you and Bro. He blindly goes over to where you had set down his stuff and rifles in his backpack. He produces a blue shirt with a logo of a weird alien ghost on it and puts it on. He then takes out his cell phone and dials a number, something similar to dread begins to creep over his face as whoever is on the other end of the call picks up.

"Yeah, hi Jade, I—"John is interrupted and his face pales, "Sorry I just got mugged and…I know, I just… but…no I'm not calling Dad…I'm sorry, I lost all my money… but— "

John looks like he might burst into tears again. You can hear a loud exasperated voice barking at him and you feel sorry for him yet again.

Bro sighs and grabs your arm, pulling you into the kitchen. You wrench away from his grasp.

"What are you doing?" You ask, glancing back at John, who seems to be trying to apologize numerous times.

"You need to get him out of here. Now. They'll trace him to our apartment." Bro mutters, opening the cupboard to reveal an amazing assortment of shitty swords.

"And take him where? Those SOBs will track us anywhere in the city. He's too powerful; I won't be able to cloak his field. "

"You'll do it with this." Bro hands you a metal pendant shaped like a spirograph with a green center.

"This shitty thing is supposed to hide **his **power?"

"It'll do for now. Go and make sure you leave the city by the time night falls tomorrow. I call you later."

"But Bro—"

"Go." Bro's hidden gaze scares you and you back out of the kitchen to where John is standing, looking visibly drained.

"We gotta go." You mutter, grabbing your sword from its place leaning against the wall.

"What? Where are we going?" Egbert sputters, reaching for his bag quickly.

"To find your glasses, derphole." You open the door and give Bro one last glance.

"Then why are you taking your sword?"

"In case we run into your grandmother, what do you think? Come on, let's go." You grab his good arm and rush him out the door, down some flights of stairs, and out into your apartment lobby.

"Okay, so we're gonna take my car," You begin, walking out into the parking lot and distractedly searching your pockets for your keys.

"You drive?" John interrupts, gazing in awe at your black mustang.

"Yeah, now get in." You reply, checking your trunk for all the weapons you'll be needing.

John slowly gets in, gaping at the interior, decked out in your prized stereo system, and shivering at the sight of a miniature smuppet hanging from the front view mirror.

"Buckle in, I like to go fast." You smirk as John's face pales.

You drive down the street and enter a busy avenue. This is the first time John has actually seen the city for himself. His face is plastered to the window, watching the normal city life you're so used to.

"So where are you from?" You ask, feeling the silence was getting to awkward (or it could've been just you.)

He clears his throat, startled. Goddammit, why is this person so adorable?

"Uh well, I'm from Washington." He mutters shyly.

"The capital?"

"No, the state."

"Oh, sounds like fun…" You mentally grimace, what the fuck is wrong with you?

"Pfft, yeah right. It's all trees and boring suburbs." John pouts and you have to force yourself to not pullover and give him a hug. Whelp, there you go, inner gayness strikes again. You'll alert the media, get your buddy Batman on the case. Serve up a steaming plate of fine-ass justice. Yeah okay, you worry about yourself sometimes.

"So this is your first time in the big city. Remind me to get you some famous Yankee delicacies, can't get enough of that hot dog complete with smelly old vendor guy."

John chuckles, his teeth stick out a bit and his eyes smile, brightening his entire face. Wait, where the glob are all these homosexual tendencies coming from? It's not like you're some annoying fan girl writing some ridiculous homoerotic fanfiction. At the rate you're going you're probably gonna start calling Bro "aniki" and saying things like "tsugoi desu" while blushing like a stupid anime schoolgirl.

"So it's Dave right?" John's smile begins to disappear and you feel the easy atmosphere you've created dissipate.

"I don't see any other Daves at this time." You reply, gripping the steering wheel tight.

"Well, um… so this is all true? I'm an elemental?" John's brow furrows. "But what does that make my dad? And my sister?"

_Crap. _You sigh. Bro is better at explaining this crap than you.

"Well, you see, long ago, the four nations lived in harmony. That is until the fire nation attacked—"

"Dave! Stop! Be serious! This is my life changing here! I have no idea what's going on! I got knocked out by something you guys call a vampire, and now I'm some sort of monster and you're sitting here making jokes! How the hell am I supposed to believe you guys about anything?!" John glares at you.

"Okay, okay, listen. You're not a monster. Long ago…"

"Dave not the avatar crap again!"

"Chill your nerd tits and let me finish before you start throwing shout poles everywhere again." John quiets but continues to glare at you.

"Long ago, the universe was created and a whole bunch of already known shit happened, the big bang or whatever. The four elements collided and formed one person. Now this person is a guy called Lord English and he is like the Regina George of the fucking universe only bitchier. For some reason he hates everything. I mean talk about teen angst here. So he decided that it would be a great idea to extinguish the entire universe. But, even this douche wasn't powerful enough to do that alone because physical limitations can be pain when you're trying to destroy crap, so he found himself a servant, Doc Scratch. And guess what, this asshat possessed a very unique power. Lord English tore the elemental part of his form from his physical body and divided it into four souls. They became what we call elementals; Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire. They had the power to destroy the universe since they created it in the first place and also they were pure energy, no physical limitations to speak of. Now this was where Doc Scratch came in, his power allowed him to be able to bind the elementals together and basically make some sort of sweet-ass bomb with an explosion of gigantically universal proportions.

"But, the elementals didn't want this, and they escaped to the farthest regions of the universe where Lord English could never find them. Elementals are tricky and they reincarnate from one being to the next to make it harder for Lord English to find them. Not that searching the universe isn't already hella difficult, wouldn't wanna be that douchewaffle. It's been this way since the beginning of time, but recently, we've discovered that all elementals have reincarnated here on Earth. Lord English has found an easier way to search for them too. That is why monsters exist, they are his spies and Bro and I kick their fugly asses to make their job even more of a pain in the ass. Obviouse plot twist; you are an elemental, the Wind elemental to be irritatingly exact."

Silence engulfs the car. God you are really hatin' these silences.

"So that's your creation theory? I don't believe it…" John whispers shakily.

"Yeah. What did you think? That our universe was a frog or something?"

"So, I'm one of these elementals? I can destroy the universe?"

"Well don't get ahead of yourself, you need those other peeps too."

"HOLY SHIT!" John screams, making you swerve out of your lane.

"Hey, do you wanna kill us?!" You shout, steering your way back into the lane.

"Oh my god…"

"You mean oh my Lord English."

"I'm some sort of legendary creature like Lugia or Mewtwo?!"

"Well if you wanna be a huge nerd about it."

"What do I tell my Dad?!"

"He probably doesn't know and we should keep it that way."

"What do you mean?" John's eyes are wide and fearful.

"He'll be in danger if you so much as call him. They're tracking your scent now and they'll follow you for the rest of your mortal life."

"What?! Who?!"

"That monster who used you as a chew toy sent a signal to its buddies before I ganked it."

"A signal? They can do that?"

"All monsters can and now Lord English knows where you are. We can't let him catch you. He'll be sending out his best spies...,

_**Demons**_."

* * *

**Whelp here's the end of of chapter 3 (Oooh whats gonna happen next), chapter 4 will be here soon (hopefully there won't be such a long wait as last time -_-;)**

**Me being a multi-fandom person, I put some really vague supernatural references and some not so vague avatar the last airbender refs in there bc hey im the writer so heck yeah XP**

**Anywho rate and review please ^^ and cya next time guys in Chapter 4. ;3 **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi guys ^^ I'm back and sorry again for late updating. It shouldn't get any worse since im just about done with the busy part of the school year so that means more writing time (yay) This chapter will be a mix between John and Dave and it will kinda lay down some foundations for the rest of the plot. Well yup that's pretty much it so enjoy **

* * *

Chapter 4

"Demons exist?" John whispers, slumping back in his seat.

"Yeah, so does the big bad wolf and the wicked witch of whatever direction it is. You've already been face to face with Dracula." You say jokingly, but John's face stays drained of color.

"So you and your bro hunt them?"

"Pretty much. I'd say it was the family business."

"Isn't it hard?"

"What do you mean?"

John hesitates, "Haven't you ever been afraid? Don't you want a normal life?"

Darkness settles in your stomach, slithery and painful. You feel time slow down and flashes of a memory you've never lived before play blindingly behind your eyelids. A white shirt stained with blood. Dark blond hair and tears.

"Dirk!"

"Dirk!"

"Dave!"

"DAVE!"

You snap back into reality. John is holding the steering wheel. His fingers are trembling as he pulls on your shirt, tugging worriedly.

"Hey, dude, don stretch out mah fave shirt." You drawl, halfway asleep.

"Dave! What the hell is wrong with you?! I'm supposed to be the one getting us killed remember?" John's voice is slightly panicked. You have the urge to hug him yet again. _Must resist the temptation. _

Your eyes refocus on the road. Jegus, how many almost accidents have you had already? What in the flying wizard porn are the traffic cops doing anyway? Fucking eating donuts and getting fat is what they're doing. Wasting that goddamn taxpayer money that Bro always manages to illegally con himself out of contributing to. You search for a familiar exit, the one that will eventually join another avenue and take you straight to the bus station.

"Are you okay? You kinda blanked out there dude." John lets go of the steering wheel slowly, making sure that you aren't gonna do something stupid while driving.

"Probably. Don't worry, I'm not that bad of a driver." You answer after a short pause.

"So, wait, you said there are 4 elementals. I'm here so who are the other 3? Where are they?" John is still watching you carefully.

"That's kind of hard to answer right now since Bro and I have no idea."

"So, I'm the first one you've found?"

"Making great progress, huh?" You look at John. His eyes flicker away as soon as he sees you staring.

"But, we are trying to find them. We received a tip from some hunters up near Cali about weird vibrations near the coastline. Something powerful is out there and we're gonna check that shit out." You continue.

"You really think it's an elemental?"

"Maybe. I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't."

The bus station comes into view and you pull into the crowded parking lot. John is silent as you kill the engine. He pulls at the hem of his shirt, nervously glancing at the alley in the distance. It must be terrifying for him to come back to the place he was almost mauled to death in.

"How did you know I was an elemental?" John bites his lip again.

"You're last name is kinda famous in the underworld actually." You respond, playing with your car keys, flipping them skillfully around and around with your pointer finger.

"How? I didn't even know about all this until you told me this morning. My dad doesn't even believe in ghosts much less frickin' demons and vamipires!"

"That's because your grandmother was Jane Crocker, although I think her married name was Egbert. She was an elemental too, which is kinda weird since elemental reincarnation doesn't work genetically."

"Gran was an elemental? I guess I wouldn't have known since I've never met her. Dad doesn't like to talk about her."

" Actually, she and the other elementals met each other and tried to fight Lord English. But they didn't succeed."

"What happened?"

"They died."

"What? But Lord English didn't get them right or I wouldn't be here. None of us would be."

"Exactly. They died so that the next reincarnations could take their place. Now there's you and three unknowns. We need to find them, not only because they're sitting (err floating) rubber ducks in Lord English's oversized tub, but because they're the only ones who can destroy him."

"So now it's up to me and these other people to basically save the entire globbing universe?"

You don't answer. John's shoulders are tense and his blue eyes uneasy. You lift your hand up and rest it on his head. He gives you a confused, wary look.

"Hey, everything will be okay. Nothing can get you when a Strider's got your back." The corners of your mouth have somehow mysteriously pulled up into a reassuring smile. Quickly, you turn away from a startled John and get out of the car, covering your mouth with your hand. The slam of the passenger door alerts you to John's presence. You turn around and walk briskly past him towards the alley. John's face is almost wonderstruck.

"I didn't think you could actually smile. I thought all you could do was smirk like a douchebag." John teases, hurrying to catch up with your long, irritated strides.

"Glad to exceed your expectations." You mumble, turning into the alley with a frown you can't undo on your face.

John's footsteps behind you halt abruptly. You look back with a questioning gaze. He's full of fear and dread, you can see it already. How it makes his back stiffen and his lips tighten into a pale line. He's eyeing the dark splotch of blood, his and the vampire's, which has soaked into the dark cement. You had dragged the body and head behind some dumpsters earlier, planning to dispose of them later as soon as you made sure John was alright, but it never happened. Checking behind those very same dumpsters, you discover, not all too shockingly, that it's gone.

"Where is it?" John asks, glancing everywhere, as if expecting the vamp will jump out of nowhere and attack him again.

"Looks like his amigos got to him before we came here." You mutter, searching the alley for John's glasses.

Finally, you find them in a puddle of brown water. One of the lenses is cracked and the bridge is crooked. You pick it up gingerly, grimacing at the stink emanating from the filthy pool.

"You might want to disinfect the shit out of them if you want to wear them ever again. They smell like monster puke and cat pee." You can't help but grin.

"Just wonderful." John groans, taking his glasses and dangling them in front of his face, little wrinkles forming on the freckled skin of his nose.

"Whelp, it's heartwarming to see this beautiful reunion between a dork and his corrective lenses, but we have to go." You almost laugh at the sight of John's disapproving frown.

Taking out the spirograph pendant Bro gave you earlier, you give it to John.

"What is this?"

"Something that will protect you."

"What type of protection are we talking about?"

"It cloaks you from the rest of the—"

Suddenly, something comes up behind you, digging its claws into your shoulder. Hot breath blows on the back of your neck and your hand immediately goes to your sheathed katana hanging from your belt.

"Too slow!" Something giggles as it rakes those claws down your back. A white agony shoots up your spine and you scream.

John's face is contorted in pure terror and time stops.

* * *

The alley is swirling. Dave is screaming, disbelief apparent in his expression. There was something behind him, dark and shadowy with long claws that dug into Dave's back. It had two inky orbs of black for eyes which seemed to shift and flow out from its head like tentacles. Your knees stiffen and an icy rush sweeps through you veins, making your body shake and your stomach flip-flop.

You're about to scream too when a flash blinds you. When your vision clears, Dave is gone. The place where he was is empty. Before you have chance to shout for him, he materializes from nowhere on top of the creature's back. His sword is already plunged deep into the neck of the monster. It wails and cackles hideously, trying to shake Dave loose, but he grunts and swiftly beheads it with a flicker of movement in his arm. A great chaos of smoke and fire balloons out of its neck and into the air.

The head slides cleanly off and rolls to your feet where it, as well as the body, promptly melts into a shadowy pool and absorbs into the ground.

"Dave, what the hell just happened?!"

Dave doesn't answer. He just stands there. Something is wrong; he looks faded, almost transparent. There is something whispering in the wind, blowing past your ears, warning you.

"Dave!" The wind whirls around you, blowing leaves up and rustling trash bags.

"Dave!" The breeze hits him, lifting his blond bangs up over his forehead. He snaps to attention, raising his sword up automatically.

"What? What happened? Where is it?" He questions breathlessly, looking around himself.

"You killed it, remember?" You step closer.

Dave's eyebrows raise a little, "What?"

"I don't know! You did this weird flashy thingy! Are you okay? Your back is... Dave what was that?!"

He relaxes his stance, his face darkening.

"That was a demon and as for what happened to me; I have no idea."

_**That **__was a demon?_ Holy shiz, you don't ever want to meet one of those again. But, Dave. Something is wrong with him.

"You have no idea at all?"

"None whatsoever, but listen. We need to go now. I just killed one of their buddies, and I guarantee that they won't be very forgiving." And with that, Dave grabs your arm and practically drags you back to the car. He fishes inside his glove compartment until he finds a yellow manila folder.

"What's in there?" You ask, staring at the bulge visible from the outside.

"Cash and some other stuff. I'll tell you about it later." Dave takes out a new shirt from his trunk and quickly slips off his old tattered one. You try to avoid looking at his torso as he's changing and dressing his wound. When you look back, he's wearing a new red shirt with the same logo and holding a black duffel bag filled with god knows what.

"Ready?" He asks.

"For what?" You reply dumbly.

"Hollywood Boulevard."

* * *

**Okie doke, that's about it for now. Sorry i couldn't further the plot more but it will get better. Next chapter will have more characters than just Dave and John so don't fret lol**

**Thanks for all the reviews guys, they've really been motivating me to get these chapters done (and believe me when i say that writing stuff and sticking with it to the very end is always hard on a writer) Okay that's the end of my babble so cya in the next chapter ;D Don't be afraid to rate and review **


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

GOD FUCKING DAMMIT. Why are children so infuriating? Can't parents do their fucking jobs and get them to shut the fuck up? It might be an easier task if everyone on the face of the planet managed to get their moronic heads out of their asses.

The coffee you hold in your hands can't comfort you this time. The incessant wailing of an infant assails your ears, your temple throbs with each shrill cry. Unconsciously, you crush the Styrofoam cup in your hand and are greeted with an intense burning sensation on the skin of your fingers. Cursing, you rush to the nearest bathroom in the overly-crowded Starbucks, pushing past customers, trying to resist elbowing the annoying imbeciles standing in your path.

The restroom is empty, thankfully. The cool water running from the faucet is a relief on the tender flesh of your hand. You sigh as you try to avoid looking at your reflection in the mirror. You know what you look like, tired and grumpy, all the damn time. At least your job fits you well; one of the perks is killing some nasty sons of bitches after all.

Your phone starts to go off as you grimace. It's probably that annoying douchebag again, calling to harass you with his horrible rapping skills. A glance at the screen confirms this. With a groan as if you're being ordered to lick a toilet seat, you answer.

"What the fuck do you want?"

"Whoa there, Nelly. Someone's having a wonderful day. Did you get kissed by your crush? Are you gonna get married now? Please tell me I'm gonna be the maid of honor." Dave is sarcastic as ever but you can detect a subtle panic in his voice.

"I spilled some goddamn coffee, get over it. Now, what the fuck do you want?"

"Sorry to tear you away from your chic-flics, but I need some help."

Well that takes you by surprise. It's not in Dave's nature to ask for help, especially from you.

"What? Why? I thought a fucking cool kid like you didn't need help."

"Yeah, well not me specifically."

"Who then?"

"Karkat, we found one of them. And currently, he's jacking everything up with his windy powers."

The sun beats down mercilessly, making you sweaty and a little bit dizzy in the heat of the California summer. You sit on a bench, hugging your suitcase and ignoring Jade's numerous calls. In the distance, there's a phone booth where Dave stands talking to Bro. He somehow lost his own cell during the fight with the demon. You involuntarily shiver as you remember that creature's awful face. You guys barely managed to catch the next bus headed west and spent a very long time sitting and basically being bored to death.

In the booth you can see Dave starting to get a little annoyed. You notice a group of girls watching him shyly not far off. They giggle and whisper amongst themselves. You feel something unpleasant well up in your chest. What? Who says your feeling jelly? No one. That's right punk, wanna fight about it? _Come at me bro!_

You grimace; sleep was hard to come by while traveling over here. Dave slams the phone down with noticeable irritation but his face remains calm. As he exits the booth the group of girls approach him excitedly. You can't help but send them a glare.

"Excuse me?" A brunette who appears to be their leader asks. The other girls giggle some more.

Dave gives them a wary look, but his mouth lifts into a familiar smirk and, judging from their swoons, he has them wrapped around his stupid finger. "What's up, ladies?"

You notice that his usually persistent Texan accent is completely gone. What does that mean? Does he really want to impress them? Hurriedly, you stand up and make your way towards them. Something about the way the girl leans into Dave's personal space bothers you. You reach them just as the brunette presses a piece of paper into Dave's hand.

"Just a little something to remember me by…" The girl purses her lips a little and you have the urge to puke all over the sidewalk.

"Sure thing." There it is again. That smooth voice and that shit-eating grin that makes your heart skip a beat.

The brunette almost faints as her friends pull her away. You continue to glare at them until the crowds of tourists and locals block them from view.

"Was that really necessary?" You ask, trying to keep the irritation out of your voice.

"What? Are you jealous?" Dave turns around, amusement clear in the way he arches his eyebrow. He begins to walk back to the bus station.

You feel yourself blush, "No! Just…, we are trying to save the world and crap. I don't think we have time to be messing around with girls."

"Ah, yes, cause you make all the rules, oh great Lord of the Dorks."

Dave's face looks so punchable right now, "Where are we going anyway?"

"I'm gonna get something to drink, and then we're gonna go chill in that hotel room that Bro so graciously reserved for us."

As you walk down the street, you can feel everyone's eyes, or rather the female majority's, on Dave. He doesn't notice the attention or seem to care. _The douche is probably used to it_, you think scornfully, trudging self-consciously behind him.

Hell yes, Cali heat. It's nowhere near smoldering like in Houston, your hometown, but enough to remind you of that searing Texas sun. John looks like he's about to keel over and melt into the sidewalk. His bangs are somewhat damp, and his cheeks a little sunburnt. You don't realize you've been staring until John's whining compels you to refocus on the street.

"Dave, it's so hot. Where's the hotel. It's too damn hot here." You can almost hear him dragging his feet.

"Chill dude, it's the Hilton up there." You chuckle, pointing at the high rise building facing the blue sea on the other side of the street.

"Thank Gog." John exhales, zooming past you and entering the air conditioned lobby.

You wince as the cold, artificial air escapes past the automatic sliding doors and hits you in an icy wave. You always liked warmer weather anyways, which was why New England winters were hell.

At check-in, you find out that Bro only reserved one room with one bed. _Cheap-ass motherfucker_, you mutter, staring at the glossy card the clerk gave you. She had made sure to also slip her phone number into your hand as well. You give her a wink as you motion for John to follow you into the elevator. John disengages himself from the loveseat he was promptly passed out in and grumbles about damn cool kids after catching sight of the clerk ogling your ass. You can't help but smirk, which only serves to make John pout more. _Well, I guess one bed won't be so bad. _

Once you enter your hotel room, John pushes past and proceeds to flop down on the bed, exhausted, "I call the bed."

"What? No way, dude. Dorklords sleep on the couch." You smirk, "Unless if you want to share."

John blushes slightly, "No-o way."

"Aw you've hurt my feelings." You almost snicker, watching John's flushed, embarrassed face.

"Dave! Shut up. Anyway, what did Bro say?"

"He's gonna meet up with us as soon as he's done with some hunter business in NYC."

"What about the plan?"

"Well tomorrow we're gonna go investigate that stuff going on in the ocean."

"How are we gonna do that?"

"With this," You produce a scroll from your duffel bag. It's a one-of-a-kind Chinese antique, a relic of the Han Dynasty. It took Bro a lot of money and time to track this baby down, stashed in an old rundown pawnshop in the city of Shanghai.

"What does it do?" John gazes at it with wonderment. "Does it conjure up mythical creatures or something?"

"No nerd, it locates things that are supernatural. That's why Bro went crazy trying to find it. It's a hell of a hunter's weapon."

"So we're gonna use it to find whatever's making those 'weird vibrations'?"

"Unless if you plan on using a metal detector."

"You're a sarcastic bastard, you know that right?"

"I aim to please."

- - - - - Time Skip - - - - - -

You groan in boredom as you watch Dave chant some weird archaic words in Chinese. It's 5 a.m. in the morning and you didn't even get to eat any goddamn pancakes. The dock you both are standing on is relatively empty. The sun has yet to fully rise and the early morning fog is making the atmosphere really creepy. Dave spreads the Chinese scroll on the floor of the dock, still mumbling something and slicing his hand with a knife that he got out of nowhere. Wait, huh? Holy crap, he's bleeding.

"Woah, Dave, what the hell are you doing?!" You take a step toward him.

Dave finishes muttering and drips some of his blood onto the scroll, "it's part of the incantation so relax."

A soft yellow glow begins to emanate from the strange patterns drawn on the scroll; even Dave's blood turns a golden color.

"Holy cra—"You begin, transfixed on the sight of Dave's blood lifting into the air.

It hovers until it begins to divide into lines, forming a gridded sphere with an arrow fluttering inside. The sphere solidifies and begins to glow even harder, giving off a golden light, before going out altogether and falling into Dave's hand.

"W-what is that?" You stutter.

"It pretty much acts like a compass. The arrow points in the direction of where the thing you want to locate is." Dave gives it a glance, "looks like the thing we want is…in shitville."

"Dave! Wait what?" You watch the arrow as it spins uncontrollably in every direction. "What's wrong with it?"

"I did tell it to specifically find beings like you. It might be confused and be detecting your power as well as the elemental's, if it is one, out there."

"So what are we gonna do?" You feel disappointment rise up. You knew it couldn't have been as easy to just track one down with only an old mystical scroll.

"Wait—"Dave answers, bringing the sphere up to see it better in the light of the rising sun.

You can hear the roar of a plane flying above, and you remember suddenly. Jade said she was coming to check up on you, whether you liked it or not, in your last conversation with her back at Dave's apartment. That could be her plane arriving in LAX right now, probably dropping her off so she could board another headed to New York.

"So that's where you've been." Dave interrupts your thoughts.

You look back to see that the arrow has quit its erratic spinning to follow the plane.

It's been a very long time since you last saw your half-brother, John. Of course, the time that you finally decide to visit him is to help him get out of a mess he wound up being caught up in. _John is helpless. _You sigh, gazing at the sun as it rises over the Pacific. The city of Los Angeles greets you, sparkling and dark in the early hours of the morning.

"We'll be landing in LAX in 20 minutes." The pilot yells out to you from the front.

You squirm a little in your seat, surrounded by cargo and boxes filled with mail. Your grandfather died a long time ago, shortly after he'd taken you to your home on an isolated island surrounded by the ocean. It had been a hard time on you but the locals of the island had taken care of you. The pilot had also always stopped by to say hello when he had mail to deliver. He'd been a good friend of your grandfather's and that was how he'd agreed to take you all the way to Los Angeles so that you could take a plane to NYC.

"Alright!" You shout over the sound of the engine.

You suddenly missed Bec, your dog, a whole lot right then. He could get so sad when you were away. You hoped the lady you'd left Bec with would treat him right while you were gone.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys, I know it's been quite a while since the last time I posted a chapter and im sorry. I was so busy with school and other stuff I completely forgot about this for a while. But here's chapter 6, and I've done some more plot outlining. Next chapter is gonna be awesome!**

* * *

Chapter 6

"Dirk! Dirk!" You scream.

The name is vaguely familiar although it feels foreign in your mouth. Your vision is blurry as hell but you can still make out someone on the ground in front of you. He has a white shirt, again that nostalgia, with a crimson blotch blossoming over the center of his chest. What is that? A sword, sticking straight up like a lone cross.

"Dirk!" It's your voice that's screaming this name. Why are you? Who are you?

Your hands reach out, try to tug the sword free, but your muscles are heavy and weak.

"You bastard..." You snarl and then you wake up.

Sounds of chatter like a muted roar. Something else, cold air and the feel of the chair you're sitting in. Someone's voice, urgent and annoying.

"Dave wake up! Jade's plane just landed." Blue eyes.

"Egbert, gog, what?" You answer him groggily, yawning.

You had a nightmare you think, but it's already fading.

"I need to go and meet her at the gate." John mutters hurriedly.

He looks flustered, his hands move around quickly as he fidgets with his suitcase and stands up. It's almost impossible this time to hold yourself back from hugging him. You remember John suddenly shouting about his half-sister on the dock, pointing at the plane above like it was some sort of neon UFO complete with blinking Christmas lights.

We need to get to LAX, he said, and just like that you guys had gotten into the cheap car that Dick, you mean Dirk, had also rented and rushed to the airport where John promptly called Jade and told her everything minus the supernatural part.

"Tell me again why we're here?" You groan. Gog, that nap was not enough.

"She would've flown all the way to New York without knowing I wasn't even there anymore." John stated, looking out through the windows, straining to see his sister on the platform outside.

"Okay, well, I'm gonna go get some pizza. You can go meet your sister and have a nice Egbert family reunion. I'll be chillin' here when you get back." The smell of pepperoni is calling you like some mystical gypsy lady, with pizza, mmmmm, yes pizza. Your stomach grumbles in anticipation. You try not to go into another cheese rant again, those things are not cool.

"Um, ok, but get back here in five. She might kill me if you're not here." John sighs, still eyeing the gate warily.

"Relax; she's your half-sister or whatever right? I'm sure you won't die." You chuckle as you watch John's face descend into a new level of despair.

* * *

_Goddamn Strider._ You stare at his receding back as he makes his way to the mini Pizza Hut located a ways back toward the front of the airport. You turn back to the gate, trying to find a familiar mess of black hair and round glasses among the tourists and businessmen.

Suddenly, there's a guy. Just standing there; his eyes droopy but his smile sinister. His hair is big wild mess, and you can't help but be reminded of circus clowns.

"**John**!" You swear to gog that your blood froze for half a second just then.

Suddenly, a pair of slender but strong arms wrap around your neck and nearly throttle you to death. The strange guy is gone.

"Arrrrg! Hi Jade..." This is the way you're gonna die, being strangled to death by your half-sister in the middle of a busy airport.

Dave will probably come back, see you sprawled out on the floor, and say, "I warned you bro."

"John, what the heck! I was so worried about you, you assbut! Why didn't you call earlier?" Jade is as loud as ever, with her buck teeth sticking out and her green eyes narrowing dangerously.

"Sorry, we didn't have much time before we left, and I completely forgot to call you on the bus ride." You try to disengage her arms from your neck but fail.

"Ugh, John, how can you forget to call me on a 3-day bus ride?! You're so lucky you're not hurt! But, wait, who's we?" Jade's arms seem to tighten and you begin to fear for your life.

"That's-"

"Hey, Egbert's sister." Dave! Oh my gog, you have never been more relieved to see anyone in your life.

Jade's arms loosen enough for you to escape and get a safe distance away from your half-sister.

"John, who's this?" Her voice is somewhat cheery, and you figure it's ok to get a bit closer.

Dave's eyebrow is raised, "You didn't tell her about me, Egbert? I thought we were bffs dude. I'm even more hurt than the time you didn't want to sleep in the same bed with me."

"Dave!" You feel your cheeks warm up.

"Is this the friend you've been talking about?" Jade comments as she extends her hand out to Dave, "Nice to meet you! I'm Jade, John's half-sister. What's your name?"

"Dave, no don't do it!" You whisper as Dave raises his hand to shake hers.

"Dave Strider at your servi-"

In a flash, she pulls him forward to glare at him up close.

"Hello, Dave Strider. I wanna make something perfectly clear. You hurt John, and I will castrate you." Jade grins happily, and you shiver.

You love your sister, but jegus christ does she overreact.

"Jade!" You whine, glancing at Dave to see his reaction.

Dave smirks darkly, "don't worry, I don't plan on it."

"Good, then we are at an agreement!" Jade giggles.

_Why are there so many weird people in my life? What the hell did I do to deserve this?_ You groan.

Suddenly, Dave flashsteps away, grabbing your arm and dragging you back along with him.

"Who are you really?" Dave whispers. People are starting to stare and you feel even more embarrassed than you did before.

"Dave! I'm getting really tired of saying your name over and over again!" You try to wrench your arm away from his grasp but his hold only tightens.

"What are you talking about? We just met." Jade's brows knit together, and she takes a step closer to you.

"Dave, what are you doing?!" You watch your sister's aura darken, "that's my sister. Why are you acting this way?"

"The compass is literally melting my butt off. It's her, whatever it is."

"What?" Jade takes a step closer, trying to reach for you.

"She's also an elemental."

* * *

John is a big gigantic piece of douchwaffle. You've decided this and no one in the entire world can ever make you think otherwise. You watch John's friend, "Dave", gulp down 4 gallons of apple juice and proceed to open up a mysterious-looking duffel bag and pull out all sorts of knives and guns.

"John, how did you get to meet this guy again?" You ask, watching Dave sharpen a few blades.

"Uh, he saved me when one of those monster things attacked me." John stutters, also watching Dave in awe.

Your brother. My gog, sometimes you wonder what he would do without you.

"So monsters, and demons, and this guy called Lord English. They're all bad guys who want to destroy the universe or something?" Once Dave had figured out that you were an elemental, whatever that was supposed to be, John had told you everything. Lord English, monsters, demons, compasses, the universe. Your head was still spining from all the new information.

But what could you believe? You'd trusted in science your entire life. Heck, you loved science. What the crap were you supposed to do with all this? That you and John were elementals and Dave was a monster hunter and that you were all trying to save the universe. What in the actual crap?!

"Dave is so much better at explaining this than me." John says, glancing over at Dave hopefully.

You can't help but notice something about that glance, the way it lingered and slid over Dave's hands. That's when you notice it. John and Dave. They seem like best friends. But how could that be when they've known each other only 4 days?

"What is it about you guys anyways?"

Both Dave and John stiffen.

"About what?" John breathes, standing up.

There is a silence as Dave keeps polishing his blades and John takes out his laptop.

"Geez, who spit in their bean curd." You deflate and mentally slap yourself for making a cheesy Mulan reference because the writer had no other line to say there.

* * *

**Okaaay, sorry for that last part XD but anyway chapter 7 is in process right now, and chapters will come out faster than before since my dual cred classes will be ending this week and I'll have nothing to do after so yeah lots of free time yay! Also we will get to meet some more characters next chapter so keep reading ^^ and also review please since those keep me going as well as remind me that I have fanfiction to write ;)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi there guys ^^ so yup here's chapter 7 and you get to meet (drumroll please)...Rose! so yep the four beta kids are now all included. I wonder how you guys are gonna react to this chapter. Whelp, that's all i have to say in the author's intro stuff so enjoy :3**

* * *

Chapter 7

It wasn't much that you hated coffee. It was just that chamomile tea had this much more enticing and irrevocable scent, one that lingered long after you had put the cup down. You could read it with your favorite book during a particularly cold New England winter and admire the gentle flavor. One of the many joys you found in life, which would probably be strange to any other sixteen year old girl, was this very same activity. You could never imagine, with all your careful planning, that you'd run out and resort to some standard, cheap coffee that your mother had bought to help ease her out of her morning hangovers.

Yet, here you were, bent over your desk, reading over numerous news articles from all over the world, the Vatican, Tokyo, Africa, Alaska, even from New York City, the place where you'd grown up. The newspapers, field labs conducted by numerous scientists, and blogs written by environmentalists, all pointed to something, a pattern that you had noticed a while back and been researching since. Vibrations, all over the surface of the Earth. The sources of these vibrations, there were four, had also been moving, deep under the bedrock, but still causing enough of a tremor to affect wildlife and tides.

Sighing, you waved your finger in a circular motion over your mug, letting the milk in your coffee swirl. You hadn't always had this power over water. It was strange since you had only noticed it after you mother had died some years ago.

It had been a while since Dave had contacted you. You wondered what he was doing and if he had any new information about these vibrations. You had told him a month ago, since both he and his brother, who once dated your mother, were involved in the supernatural business. None of the science journals could really offer much of a plausible explanation for these vibrations so you concluded that such a confounding series of events could only be described supernaturally. However, Dave was newly recruited, and he still did not know much about the monsters he was hunting. Your family had been hunting for generations upon generations, from your mother who had favored her trusty rifle, to you, who much more preferred the literary aspect of hunting; however, you could kick some ass if you wanted to. Dave and his brother made their place as the infamous Strider Brothers in the hunting scene a few years ago, when they appeared out of nowhere and set up base in New York City. That had been how your mother had gone about storming into their apartment, freshly drunk, demanding that they get off her territory and how you had first met Dave.

Dave was stubborn. That was all you could say on that, but he was loyal and brave. Something you'd admired about him since you saw him battle for the first time. You had asked him about his brother and his own past before, but something always seemed to hold him back from telling. As if he was unable to because he couldn't remember. His brother was even more mysterious. You didn't even know his real name. Dave had insisted you just call him Bro which kind of made you wonder what your mother had called him when she had dated him. You guess you could imagine now that she was dead.

Swiping your mind clean from that memory, you turn your attention back to the various papers strewn out before you. Your cat, Jaspers, hops up into your lap, rubbing his head into your arm.

What could it all mean? You wonder, scratching Jaspers behind the ears.

Turning on the TV, you see the news, an earthquake in California with a destructive zone encompassing Seattle, Washington to El Paso, Texas. Wait, what?! How could you have missed that?! You rush to your desk and pinpoint Los Angeles on the map. Your markings of where the vibrations have been moving show that they have concentrated in this very place.

* * *

Jade isn't happy. You can tell from the way she's pacing around the room. Her normally bright green eyes are churning, starting to look like the clouds before a storm. Swallowing nervously, you keep watching, sitting at the edge of the hotel bed. Dave isn't back yet and you feel like you should have gone with him to pick up Bro.

"What's wrong?" You ask tentatively.

"I don't know. Don't you hear it?" Jade bites her lips, looking troubled.

"Hear what?"

"Something like whispering. It's coming from downstairs."

"I don't hear anything. Are you sure?"

"Can we go check it out or something?" Jade looks agitated, glancing out the window.

"Okay, I guess... let me just grab our room card." You don't feel good about this, something's wrong, you just don't know what.

At the lobby, Jade seems even more restless. Suddenly, you see her kneel down and place her ear against the floor.

"Jade?! What are you doing?" You sputter, watching her eyebrows scrunch together. Hotel staff and guests alike are beginning to stare, wondering why this strange girl is resting on the floor like some weird snail.

"Can't you hear it, John?! It's so loud!" Jade whispers hurriedly, getting up and running out the main entrance.

"Wait! Where are you going?" You yell, what could your sister be up to now?

As soon as you're outside, a strong gust of wind blows past you, and you hear it. Whispers in the wind, like the time Dave was fighting the demon. Warnings. Feeling an overwhelming sense of dread, you run after Jade. She's across the street and wondering around in the sand, feeling it with her fingers.

"Jade!" You see her freeze.

The sky is dark and another strong wind pushes you back from where you are, it's a struggle to keep upright. The whispers grow louder, and you can finally start to make out a few words, ones that are strange, foreign.

"Jade!" You yell again. What could she possibly be doing?

Jade whips around, and automatically you know something is wrong. Her panic is evident in her tense shoulders and wide eyes.

_Conturbatio...terrae_. The whispers, they are _...hubis...MUNDUS_

"John! Go back inside!" She screams, running at you with full force.

That's when the ground begins to shake and the city begins to fall around you.

* * *

_It seems that the earthquake, which has affected most of the west coast of the U.S., has subsided for now with no aftershocks. Rob, you should see the damage here in Los Angeles where the epicenter was approximated to be. Complete buildings are lying in rubble, roads are complete messes. The death count is in the triple digits, over one hundred people injured. Hospitals and clinics are overflowing so we request that the public refrain from going to the E.R. unless if their injury is life-threatening. Transportation has been cut off and telephone lines are down. Please- oh my GOD. The ground is- My god, a tornado. What is this?! Rob, it seems like a second earthquake is- _

* * *

Oh god.

Everything is blurry. The asphalt of the road is dark in patches. The street is jagged. Sand is everywhere, in your eyes and in your mouth. Wind is lashing at your face. It hurts. The ground is moving and rolling. An earthquake and a wind storm.

My god, what the hell is happening?

Bro is behind you. He grunts for you to move on, past the bodies strewn around. The golden sphere is glowing, going crazy pointing at the darkened sky. That's where you see him and Jade. Tiny figures, one holding the other. An enormous cyclone spins haphazardly around them, enveloping them in wind and sand and other debris.

"John!" You feel yourself scream; now that was painful. Felt like you tore your vocal cords.

"Dave! Stop. We. Have. To. Wait." Bro is behind you, restraining you from running at the gigantic tornado ripping into the city.

"But John is-!"

"Dave!"

You realize it. You've never been this out of control. Your heart is pounding and your voice is panicked. Why are you like this, when you've never freaked out before during a hunt?

Satisfied that you won't try to run into the wind storm like a maniac again, Bro starts to set up the incantation. It's like trying to put a Hello Kitty Band-Aid on a life-threatening injury, but you don't give a shit. Los Angeles will be reduced to rubble if you guys don't stop John and Jade. They seem to have lost control of their powers somehow. No. Wait.

"What day is today, Bro?!" You shout over the roar of the wind and the screams of people fleeing.

"Summer Solstice."

_Fuck._ The days of the solstice are infamous for elements. Usually, their powers can be contained on these days, but you had forgotten. You can't believe you forgot.

"Done. Dave. Move out of the way." Bro's shades flash for a second and you almost see a glimpse of orange.

"Got it, Dirk."

Bro tenses, "What did you call me?"

"What?!" You can't understand why Bro is just standing there when the entire city is being destroyed in front of him.

"How did you know what my name is?"

"What? I- no- I always knew. I think- but what does this matter?! Bro go do the incantation!" You scream. Bro continues to do nothing.

"Bro! What are you doing!? Go!" He just stands there.

"Fuck this!" You grab the scroll, which contains the incantation, from him and sprint like mad towards the tornado.

You go inside one of the nearest buildings and climb several flights of stairs to the roof.  
Once at the top, you can see the entire city spread out before you. The tornado is gigantic, reaching up into a clusterfuck of dark clouds. On the other side of the sky, it is blue and sunny. It's amazing how isolated it can be. Below the cyclone, you can see fires, billowing tendrils of smoke, and buildings being leveled into the ground. It's horrifying in its magnificent show of elemental power. You almost feel your knees go weak. But John and Jade are in there, in that monstrosity. You have to do this, so that everyone else can survive.

Fuck, the tornado is getting closer. Down on the street, you can't see Bro. He must've gone inside.

Hurriedly, you tie yourself to a pipe with some rope you found. It won't keep you from being thrown into oblivion, but it'll buy you some time, hopefully. Wind begins to whiplash your entire body. It's getting hard to hold onto the scroll but you know if you let go of that then it's all over. The roar is terrifying, rendering you almost unable to hear. It's not even a tornado anymore to you, more like a spinning wave of dark mass with flying pieces of wood, bits of cars, and the occasional light pole or two, coming right at you. Every fiber of your being is telling you to run and hide, to be a coward because this is nature at its most powerful. You can't do this. You aren't a hero. You aren't.

It gets closer, and you begin the chant, feeling the scroll warm up in your hand. You feel your feet being lifted off the floor; the rope begins to really bite into your waist as the winds pick up even more. All around you is that roar, like you'd imagine the moment before you die. You finish the chant. It's done. All you need to do now is get it to John and Jade before they destroy the entire city.

The rope snaps.

* * *

**Alright, so my main focus in this chapter was to be intense, on action and all that. I won't really know if i did a good job until you guys give me some feedback so i'll be looking for those reviews XD just tell me what you think and that would be awesome. Next chapter introduces more characters so see ya then ^^  
**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi there guys, sorry for the basically two month wait for this next chapter. I just have to say i was a bit stuck on the plotline and couldn't figure out how to tie up some loose strands but now i do so i was able to actually write this chapter without having this huge conflict in my head about what i should put in here. Some more characters appear in hear so uh, brace yourselfs (maybe idk)**

* * *

Chapter 8

"Hullo there, Jade!"

_What?_

"Nice to see that you're are doing well."

A boy with square glasses and a playful smile stands before you. He extends his hand, leaning over, and you realize that you are on the ground. All around you lies a foggy world of hazy white. It's a bit unsettling, but you can't sense any danger here. The ground which you seem to be sitting on is covered in soft grass. The boy is still there when you look up. His face is eerily familiar.

"Who are you?" You ask, tentatively taking a step towards the boy.

"Well, you seem to have forgotten me pretty quickly now haven't you?" The boy grins a little sadly, "I'm Jake English."

_Jake English!_ "Grandpa?!" You take another step forward. How could he be here?! He died and he was old when he died too! How could he be this young? You'd never even seen earlier pictures of him so you couldn't possibly hallucinate about this. How could this be?

"I'm also known by that to you, I guess, haha." Jake retrieves his hand, as you probably weren't going to take it anytime soon, to rub that back of his neck sheepishly.

"But you're dead. You're not real. I'm having a dream or something."

"That's right, I am dead and this isn't really a dream." Jake adds the last part of the sentence hurriedly.

_Hold on. Does that mean I'm dead?But I couldn't be right. But- John! And the earthquake. Oh my god. _

"You aren't dead though. This is more like a place that I created within your mind when you became an elemental." Jake reassures you, probably having seen the dawning horror on your face.

"What? I don't get it. Why would my grandfather, do this?"

Jake's face takes on a serious look, "Well, it has to do with the situation the universe faces right now."

"The universe? You mean like what's going on with Lord English and the elementals?"

"Yeah. I guess you already know about your powers, or I wouldn't be here talking to you since this whole session with me is kinda programmed to happen the first time you use your elemental powers."

"My powers? John told me about what we were, but I still don't really understand what type of powers we have."

"Hmm, John huh. Tell me something. Do you know someone called Dave Strider?"

"Dave? What does he have to do with anything. I know him because John met him. He hunts monsters or something."

"Monsters?" Jake grins a little, "You've got quite the brother."

"He's not my brother, John is." You're so confused right now.

"Huh?" Jake's grin vanishes, "Oh sorry, I didn't mean you. Anyway, do you know what part you are?"

"Part? Do you mean like what element I am? I don't. I haven't figured it out yet." You notice a faint rumbling off in the distance, the sound being muffled by the fog.

"Oh, well you're Earth."

"Earth, but how do you know?"

"I was Earth before you, and you should've realized it when you felt that earthquake coming."

"The earthquake!" With a pang you are instantly reminded of John again.

"Yep, and of course there wasn't just me. There was Jane Crocker, and Roxy Lalonde, and…" Jake's voice softens a little, "…and Dirk."

"Wait, Jane Crocker? But that was John's grandmother, I think. She was an elemental?"

"Yeah, the wind elemental before John, just as Roxy was the water elemental before Rose, and Dirk as the fire elemental before Da—"

"Who's Rose?"

"Oh…" Jake's eyebrows knit together, "I think you might have not met her yet actually."

"Ugh, all I'm doing is asking questions and your answers all just seem to be raising even more. I'm sorry, I only learned all about this yesterday. I feel like this is all too much. I mean, I was okay the day before, and now I'm an elemental who's supposed to go save the entire universe." Everything is so overwhelming. A feeling of panic begins to set in. Where is John? You're just unconscious or something here and he could be in real danger! The rumbling that you'd heard from before intensifies.

"Jade," Jake's voice penetrates through the panic, "I need you to listen because our time is almost over."

"You look up in disbelief, "What? But, I still have so many questions!"

"I'm sorry, but you're about to wake up, and I need to give you our mission."

The rumbling is growing louder, starting to shake the ground where you stand, "But—"

"You sensed it right? The vibrations, besides the ones that caused that earthquake! They are key, Jade! There are four places you and the others must go to. There, you will find weapons that we created when we died. You'll have to combine them and your own strengths. You can't beat Lord English without them!"

The rumbling is almost a deafening roar now, making it almost impossible to hear Jake. The fog is swirling.

"Earth is all about stability and strength. Let your feelings be your guide, but don't let them overtake you!" Jake is basically screaming now.

The white world that you found so peacefully is now darkening and you begin to sink into the ground, your feet is being suctioned down by mud.

"Grandpa!" You have a momentary thought of how weird it is to be calling this young guy your grandpa.

"We were fools, Jade! But I know you can do it!"

The fog swirls even faster, wind is lashing at your face, and suddenly, the mud and ground break away from under you.

* * *

John is holding you as both of you float in the center of an enormous cyclone. You look up at his face. His eyes are wide open and a bluish light glows from them.

"John?" You manage to cry out. He is unresponsive which scares you.

Wind is blowing everywhere, in your hair and face. You feel like you might suffocate.

"John! Answer me!"

His face gives no sign that he even heard.

"John! JOHN!"

"JOHN!" What was that? Your mouth was open but it wasn't your mouth that screamed his name that time.

"JOHN!" The voice has gotten so much closer.

You look down, you're eyes watering. There, a spot of red being thrown around but still managing to get closer. A hazy sphere of gold surrounds it, protecting it from most of the debris and allowing it to actually navigate in this huge monstrosity.

"Dave!" You scream in disbelief, glad to see him.

"Jade!" Dave shouts breathlessly.

He stretches out his arm to you, trying to give you the scroll held tightly in his hand.

"Jade, take it!" He shouts, reaching up.

You reach your arm out, try to stretch against John's iron hold, to grab at Dave's arm.

Your fingers brush against his sleeve. A little more. There! You have it! You take the scroll from his hand. You slam it against John's chest and look back at Dave.

Dave's face brightens for a split second, "John!" and then the gold sphere that surrounds him breaks and he is sent flying back into the winds.

* * *

You're grandmother isn't how you expected her to be. She's a little bit sassy and a little bit impatient. Doesn't really fit in the whole nice and gentle criteria you had made up in your mind about grandmothers. She's also really young. Which makes no sense to you like everything else at some given point in this damn story.

"So this is really a place inside my mind? But why did you make this place?"

Jane scrunches up her face, "We were all set to fight Lord English, Roxy, Dirk, Jake, and I."

Her face darkens a little, "Or well, we thought we were. Lord English was too powerful to fight by ourselves with only the elemental powers divided up like that, but there wasn't much we could do about it. We couldn't very well just join up. That was what Lord English wanted."

You can visibly see her deflate a little, "Everyone we loved was dead. My son, Jake's granddaughter, Roxy's daughter. The only one who was still alive was Dirk's brother, though barely. Dirk knew that we wouldn't be able to win this battle so he came up with a plan to trick Lord English."

"What plan? Is that how we're connected?"

"Yeah, when we died we made sure to implant memories of ourselves into the new elementals so that the first time you guys used your powers you would get to meet us. This power is really weak though. We can't maintain this memory of ourselves for long. Which is why I need to tell you what you need to know right now. Do you hear that rumbling?"

"The rumbling?" Right on cue, you can hear it. It's faint but persistent.

"That's your power that you're hearing right now."

"My power?"

"Well, you said you know you are Wind. That was what I was, and that rumbling is the sound of the winds you're making."

"The winds…."

"Yep, and by the sound of it, it sounds like a rather huge tornado. I think you guys will be more powerful than we were." Jane raises a hand to fix her glasses.

"I'm doing that…" The rumbling intensifies. "But wait, that means that everyone's in danger! Jade is out there with me!"

"John, I'm sorry, but I need to explain the vibrations. We don't have time to worry about Jade. Okay, first you will probably meet a girl named Rose. Ask her about the vibrations."

The rumbling begins to grow louder and your vision is blurring.

"Listen, John! You have to remember these locations, okay? First—"

_"JOHN!"_ That was someone else's voice. You look around wildly, the rumbling is by now a roar and Jane has to scream in order for you to hear her.

"First, get to these locations. They are the Vatican, Tokyo, New Orleans, and the Cape of Good Hope! Second, find the weapons. You will know where they are. Third, use them to fight Lord English!"

"I— what?!" She's talking to fast and the roar is making it impossible for you to concentrate.

"Don't worry, John! You will remember!" The roar is too loud, you can't hear what the rest is. But you see her mouth moving.

"John!" Someone yells and this time they are right in front of you. _Dave._ You can feel this warm feeling inside, beginning to spread.

You swear you almost see him smile. And then he's gone.

"DAVE!"

* * *

**Well, this is it for now. I'll have the next two chapters up soon (hopefully i won't go on a month long haitus again sorry about that) and also sorry for having Dave being swept away by the tornado again. Just needed to be done. So see you guys next chapter when I get to introduce even more new characters ^^  
**


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm gonna apologize in advance as this is a rather short chapter but I couldn't fit it in as this chapter was supposed to be longer. So now its just this chapter serving as like a dialogue thing and chapter 10 returning to narrative.**

* * *

Chapter 9

_"Dave...?" _You whisper, "Jade!"

"I'm right here John!" The winds are dying but her words are still hard to hear, as if they are being swept away too.

"Why….Dave…I…" The roar is beginning to calm.

"I know…!" Jade cries.

There is something wet sliding along your cheeks. You reach up to your face.

"Water…?"

* * *

_Water…_

You wake with a start, surprising the passenger beside you.

"Are you alright?" The man asks.

_Someone somewhere was trying to talk to me…_

"Excuse me, miss?" The man continues, bringing you out of your thoughts.

"Ah, I'm sorry." You reassure him, trying to keep your voice down so as not to disrupt the sleeping silence of everyone on the plane.

Tiredly, you look out the small window next to you. A patchwork land, shrouded in darkness and punctuated by cities of light is spread out below you. You check your watch, three in the morning. Ugh, you've still got an hour until you land in Las Vegas. There were no available flights straight to LAX for obvious reasons. You slump a little in your seat at the thought of having to rent a car and drive to that mess of a city just so you could do further research on the vibrations. You can't help but feel like there is an inexplicable force pulling you there. As if you would be missing something really important if you didn't go.

You've been trying to call Dave and pestering him endlessly on Pesterchum, but you can't seem to contact him. Maybe he heard about Los Angeles in the news and is on his way there as well. Every hunter in the nation would probably be traveling to the epicenter. The event itself had "supernatural" smeared all over it.

_What's going on, Dave?_

* * *

**What are the readings?**

_An F5 tornado, winds up to 225 miles per hour, and an earthquake of a magnitude of 8.5._

**Dammit, they're getting stronger with every new generation.**

_They are. It appears we won't have much time to act as last time._

**Damn them. Those elementals are tricky to find, but I'll get them. Is the Strider boy still alive?**

_Yes, but barely._

**Hmm. **

_ Should I start making preparations my Lord?_

**Yes, also send out Gamzee's team and have them watch over them. I am not falling for the same trick again.**

_Yes, my Lord._

* * *

Pesterlog

- twinArmageddons [TA] began pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG] at 11:12 -

TA: what the hell ii2 goiing on kar?

CG: I CAN'T TALK TO YOU RIGHT NOW.

TA: ju2t tell me what thiings we need to hunt 2o that the guy2 can stop bothering me about iit.

CG: SOL, AS MUCH AS I WOULD LOVE TO PLEASE YOUR INSIPID DEMANDS, I CAN'T RIGHT NOW.

TA: you know what? fuck you. do you know what'2 goiing on? have you 2een the new2 lately? people are dead. tell u2 what two hunt oh 2o wonderful leader.

CG: THERE IS NOTHING TO HUNT GODDAMIT. DAVE STRIDER CALLED ME HERE AND I CAN'T FIND THE JACKASS. I CAN'T TALK RIGHT NOW BECAUSE IM TRYING TO LOCATE SOME GODDAMN ELEMENTALS AND PREVENT THEM FROM FURTHER DESTROYING THE ENTIRE WEST COAST.

TA: what? you mean you're iin the fuckiing epicenter?

CG: NO I'M ON THE SHITTY MOON HAVING LEAF WATER WITH THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND. DO YOU WANT ME TO BRING YOU BACK SOME SCONES? YES, IDIOT, IM AT THE DAMN EPICENTER.

TA: well, holy 2hit dude.

TA: thii2 miight not be the time to 2ay iit but 2trider mu2t have you whiipped to get you running down two hii2 re2cue.

CG: FUCK YOU. THAT'S NOT EVEN THE POINT OF THIS CONVERSATION. THERE'S SOMETHING BIGGER HERE. BIGGER THAN ALL OF US.

TA: and what could that be?

CG: JUST GET TO LA, ONLY YOU, AND I'LL FILL YOU IN ON EVERYTHING. I SWEAR IF YOU BRING EVERYONE ELSE I'LL THROW MYSELF INTO THE PACIFIC OCEAN.

- carcinoGeneticist [CG] ceased pestering twinArmageddons [TA] at 11:25 -

* * *

**Okay, so I said I would try to get this in before the waiting period turned into a full month but it did, urg, so sorry about that. I'm already working on chapter 10 (got the chapter outlined and everything) and it'll be up in two days. So what did you guys think of sollux? was he too OOC? don't be afraid to leave a review.**

**Also to lovemahBF; it was really entertaining to see your reactions as you progressed along to each chapter haha**

**And to Lil Enchantress; thanks! I know you've been reading my fanfiction since early on and it's always cool to see your reviews and theories on how the story will go ;)**

**Lastly, it's been really hilarious seeing everyone freak out over Dave. Maybe this is what Hussie feels like.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hi again! Sorry (all I do is apologize these days huh?) i did say i'd get this in two days after the last update but of course I lied XI I think I'll just stop telling you guys when to expect the next chapter haha. But yeah here's chapter 10**

* * *

Chapter 10

"Come on John. You need to eat something!" You nudge the wrapped sandwich at your half-brother.

He seems dead to the world, ever since losing Dave in the tornado. He hasn't eaten anything since yesterday morning, when it all started, and you're worried. All around you, refugees are bustling about; families huddling on cots and volunteers running around in the giant high school gym, handing out blankets and food. You had both managed to make your way to the shelter after traveling through destroyed buildings and other sights that you don't really want to remember. It was terrifying, seeing all that **you** had done. All the people who had died. You struggle to hold back the tears, gazing around at the refugees. _I did this._

And what about that vision you had, about your grandfather. When would you even get to meet this "Rose"? But wait— Jake had said that the vision would happen the first time you or the other elementals used your power. That would mean that John would have had his vision too.

Taking another look at John, you see he's trembling.

"John, what has happened to us?" John doesn't answer. "Wasn't Dave going to bring his brother? Maybe we can find him somehow—"

"**Don't talk about Dave!**" His exclamation is loud enough to get the people closest to you sending curious and sympathetic looks.

"But John… you need to understand that he's gone and—"

"I **know** that! Just shut up about it already!" John stands suddenly, knocking the sandwich out of your hands. More people are watching, their faces wary but understanding.

Anger washes over you. John is being stubborn but he's hurt in more ways that you know. It's frustrating; feeling like you can't do anything to make him feel better. You haven't known Dave a long time, but neither has John. Losing a friend like that can be traumatizing but still…Dave is dead and you get the feeling that this place won't be safe for long.

"John, please, we need to get moving. We need to go home to Dad." You try, tugging at his hand.

"Dad…" John mutters, "I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because then…Dave…told me that he'd be in danger if I went to see him."

"So we have nowhere to go then." John is silent.

The situation just got ten times worse. A great desire to see Beck engulfs you.

"What are we going to do then?"

As if on cue, a great explosion resounds outside, making the plaster fall from the roof and the ground shake. People begin to scream and filter out of the gym. Another explosion rocks the cots and sends you falling to the ground. John is trying to help you up when a third explosion goes off and the roof begins to collapse above you.

"What is happening?!" You scream as John grabs your hands and pulls you out of the way before a piece of the roof lands in the spot where you had previously been sitting.

A cold aura suddenly surrounds you, injecting you with an unexplainable dread. You can almost see your breath. John's face pales considerably.

"What's wrong?! What's coming?!"

John's eyes are wide and his eyebrow's nit together, "Demons. They've found us."

* * *

You'd hoped you would never feel this feeling of dread ever again, the feeling that comes when a demon is nearby. At least not when Dave was around. _Dave_. Dammit. You can't seem to get the image of his face out of your mind, can't seem to get this gaping void in your chest to close.

Jade's scream rings in your ears. There's one, your breath hitches in panic, crawling over pieces of broken glass towards the both of you. It's every bit as nightmarish as the first time you saw it, when Dave killed it. Dammit_. Get out of my mind!_ _I can't focus with you in my mind! You're dead and hate that I won't get to see you again!_

"John!" The demon has a hold on Jade's ankle. "John, help!"

Trying to snap out of your fear, you feel the wind begin to pick up. You don't know how to use your powers. How could this possibly work, but somehow you manage to get enough wind blowing to send the demon flying across the gym and into a wall. It disappears and reappears beside you, howling and gurgling.

Before you can scream, there's a flash. _Dave!_ _But, wait, no_. You think quickly. This isn't Dave. Instead it's someone you've never seen before. A guy with wild hair, a scowl on his face, and a sickle for a weapon. He slashes down the middle of the demon, slicing it in half. It lets out a shriek that shatters the remaining glass untouched by the explosions and evaporates into billowing clouds of smoke and fire like you remembered from the first time.

The guy straightens and turns around, you notice there is something really familiar about him. Jade runs up beside you.

"Who are you?!" Her stance is firm but you can tell that she is just as shocked and terrified as you are.

"Wait you're from…" You've realized it. That angry guy you met on the bus when you were on your way to NYC. That seems like such a long time ago.

"Some thanks would be great right about now." The guy walks closer, rolling his eyes, annoyed.

"Uh, t-thanks? But who are you?" You stutter.

"Are you a hunter also?" Jade asks.

"Oh no, I just happened to be walking by and…" they guy trails off realizing that you guys have no idea what he's talking about, "I'm Karkat, fucking pleased to meet you."

"Why are you here?" You can't help but gaze a little cautiously at his weapon.

Seeing you eyeing his sickle, Karkat sighs and snaps his fingers. Immediately, the sickle vanishes and reappears as a scroll which he then stuffs into a duffel bag you hadn't noticed he was carrying.

"I'm here cause that huge doucheass Strider called me in for help. I expect you know where he is since he didn't even bother to tell me where to find him."

At the mention of Dave you can't help but feel that void grow bigger. You gulp and your breathing starts to speed up.

"He's…um…dead." Jade gives you a worried look which you try to ignore.

"What—" Karkat is cut off by another explosion which rocks the ground under you.

A long stream of curses flows from Karkat's mouth as he ducks, "We need to get out of here. The entire place is crawling with demons. I won't be able to hold all of them off by myself."

With that you follow Karkat to the gym exit just as a demon drops down in front of him.

"Fuck my life." Karkat growls, summoning up his sickle again, "You guys get out of here! I'll meet up with you outside!"

"But—" Jade begins to protest.

"We're not starting that movie bullshit. Get the fuck out before I kill you myself!" The demon tries to slash at Karkat before making a move to come after you, but he quickly beheads it only to have another demon take its place, "Hurry and get your asses out of here!"

"Come one, Jade!" You scream, pulling her along to the other exit.

Outside is just panic. People are running along the streets and cars are stalled on the road. Demons everywhere, ripping through the roofs of vehicles and setting off the explosions you had felt earlier in other buildings. The air is freezing, as if it weren't even summer anymore. Through the crowds of screaming people you catch a glimpse of someone with messy hair and a sickly grin. He reminds you of a clown. Like that time in the airport. And then, just like that, he is gone as a fresh new wave of people obscure him from view.

"John, look!" Jade gasps and pulls at your arm.

You don't have much time to listen as one of the demons lands before you. It raises its claw to swipe at you only to be interrupted by a flash.

A flash so familiar, it has to be. The demon lets out a gargle as it is sliced in half. Behind it stand two figures. One is a girl you've never met before, with short blonde hair, and the other is the person you never thought you'd see again. The void shivers and contracts and implodes into nothing.

_Dave._

"Hey there Egderp, miss me?"

* * *

**GASP, Dave is alive?! And they finally met Rose too! Yeah getting that plot moving along. Well that's it for now. Next chapter you guys get to find out what happened to Dave and how Rose came into play. Also, all the trolls just all the trolls.**


End file.
